


Sick Day

by W0lv35_0f_L16h7



Series: Genderbent!AU [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Cuban Lance (Voltron), F/M, Female Keith (Voltron), Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Homesick Lance (Voltron), Humor, M/M, Mentions of Other Voltron Paladins, Mutual Pining, Past Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Pining, Sick Lance (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-07-25 19:21:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20031025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/W0lv35_0f_L16h7/pseuds/W0lv35_0f_L16h7
Summary: Since Lance decided to stand her up ona date they had been planning for weeks, Keira decided to give her boyfriend a piece of her mind.Only to find him writhing in agony on his bed.





	Sick Day

**Author's Note:**

> This is as edited as I could at this point in time, so enjoy!

“Lance? Lance? Ugh, Lance, come on!” Keira stormed through the hallways, searching for the blue paladin. He had just out of nowhere left a diplomatic meeting yesterday, and had been acting really weird the past week and hasn’t seen him all day. It was now almost the evening, and she had been looking forward to training with him.

“Lance, I swear to god if you don’t hurry up--” she passed his quarters where she heard...moaning?

Keira sighed. Was he seriously screwing the princess? Now? He had to be kidding!

They had been together for...a while, but it was a mutual, ‘if you want to move on that’s fine we’re still friends’ kinda relationship, although.

“Lance?” she knocked on the door. If stuff was going on in there, then she most definitely didn’t want to see it, but  _ come on _ .

She got nothing in reply, only a...cough. A cough. Then another moan, and rustling of covers.

Keira’s anxiety peaked. “Lance? Lance, what’s wrong?”

No reply.

“I’m coming in.”

“No…”

Finally, he said something. She ignored the comment as she opened the door. 

A large, tan lump on the bed shifted, yanking the covers over his face.

She stepped into the room, noting that the temperature was well over 80 degrees fahrenheit, and the humidity was unspeakable.

“Lance? What--what happened? What’s wrong?” she rushed to his side, but was stopped.

“No! Wait, don’t...come any closer…” the urgency in his voice caused her to startle back and freeze where she stood.

She rested her weight on one hip. "And why wouldn’t you want me to come closer, Lance? If I recall, you were begging to get close to me less than a week ago."

"I don't...want you... to... get sick." He coughed as emphasis. 

Keira paused, face blank. "Lance," she said to him, "if I haven't died yet because of the crazy things I've been through and exposed to, I don't think that I ever will." She walked over to his bed against his will and knelt down next to him. 

He rolled over, facing away from her, exposing half of his bare back to her.

She stifled a gasp as she saw the burn marks on his lower back. They looked really old, but they looked like they hurt too. They were probably way back from their 'bonding moment,' as she named it. 

"Lance, face me." She sighed.

He did so, reluctantly and slowly. She couldn't blame him, he was ill.

He was shivering like nothing she'd ever seen (especially since it was so freaking hot in here) and she realized he did not even have a shirt on.

Or pants, for that matter.

Literally the only thing he was wearing were his boxers and a small blanket covering his legs.

She ignored those... small details and held his still as she pressed the back of her hand to his forehead and cheeks.

She didn't even need to compare her temperature to his to know that he was on the verge of having her drag him to the Medbay and shove him in a cryo pod for a few days.

But, the pods were shortly out of commission and she did not really think that he would appreciate such an action.

"Oh my God," she said to herself, then a bit louder, "you're burning up!"

Lance turned to her and plastered a tired smirk on his face as he turned to her. “Aren’t I always?” he asked her.

Keira fought the blush that was trying to surface, and she scolded herself internally for such a reaction to such a remark, but she was only nineteen and a half and--she had to admit--was in love with this idiot.

Why? Hah! Isn't that the question of the century?

She stood up. “I’ll be back. Don’t be dumb.”

Lance groaned. “Wait…”

“Lance, I promise, I’ll be back within 10 minutes. Just rest.”

With that, she stormed from the room.

.o0o.

Lance watched as Keira left. In his fevered state, he did not really register all that was going on or said, if anything. He shivered, thinking about his mother.

“ _ Do you know what to do when you are feeling badly, Lance?” she asked him once. _

_ “No, Mamma, I don’t,” he replied. _

_ ‘Whenever you feel sad or sick, always think about the good things in life. All the things that you are thankful for and that God has given you. And before you know it, you won't be sad anymore.” _

So that's what he did.

He thought about the day he fell for her.

Keira.

It was one of the first days Voltron was even a thing. Since Zarkon was out of the question for a long while, Allura decided it would be a good idea that they expanded the coalition and were diplomats for the time that the Galra were...indisposed.

Allura convinced them to get fittings for garb that would be considered formal for events such as these, and Keira thought it was unnecessary.

And she wasn't going to change her mind.

But neither was the princess.

Everyone was preparing. The boys in that planet’s traditional royal garb, and the girls still getting dressed in…

Actually, he didn’t know what they were going to get dressed.

Finally, Allura and Pidge had walked out, and at last Keira, wearing white, floor length dresses with a two slits on either side for movement. They were lined and accented in their colors (Allura’s was pink, Pidge’s green and Keira’s a rich red), ribbons tied to their arms in the same color as well. They were both off-shoulder necklines, with intricate weavings and gold filigree tracing the border of the fabric.

She was just so beautiful. He had a list of one liners he could bust out at any moment filing up by the second, but he bit his tongue. He and she both knew that she could flip him over her shoulder even in the dress on a heartbeat with ease. And he was taller and heavier than her.

At the party itself, there was nothing to do but wait at the dinner table for things to be sorted out among diplomats. All they were, were decorations. 

And he could tell Keira hated it. 

She kept her posture and remained, poilite, but he had known her long enough to see that little bit of tension in her form and small twitch in the corner of her mouth. She almost seemed...uncomfortable.

He would ask later.

Of course he admired her and she was the right hand of Voltron, then became the head until Shiro returned not even a month ago, and she was beautiful in the first place, always had been, but she was strong. Reliable. Not really stable, in fact she was very impulsive... But she was adaptable. She could improvise, and not many people could do that on the fly. He knew on the inside that he was falling for her slowly, but tonight...tonight did it. He saw all of her. He knew that she did not like parties, but she looked and acted vulnerable. Like she was exposed and/or a trophy. She was afraid of people seeing that scar on her shoulder back when she was being stupid when she was eighteen. It's been almost two years since then--

Has been two years since they've been together?

Not long after that, they kissed. They finally kissed, and here they were now.

He was snapped back into the harsh reality of his fevered state when the door swished open, a rush of cool air flooding the room.

He shivered and groaned, but Keira said nothing.

"Mmpph...Keira...close the door. The light…"

"Just give me a minute, Lance," she said, slightly impatient. 

The door did close, and his eyes adjusted to the light. Keira had a bowl and rags with her, the bowl containing water.. 

She dipped one of the rags in the water and knelt on the bed, hovering over him.

"This is going to be kind of cold, okay? Brace yourself," she warned.

"’Kay," he mumbled

She wrung the rag over his face, the surprisingly cool water dripping onto his face. He gasped and tried to move, but his limbs felt like a thousand pounds.

“Oh my god,” he breathed, attempting to stop her and grab her arm, but his body wouldn't respond the way that was necessary.

“I’m sorry, Lance,” she said as if she wasn't sorry, “but you need to cool you off. This is...this is the best thing for you.”

Through his shock, he saw that she...was she blushing?

“Why is your face so red?” he asked her as the freezing rag was pressed to his forehead and being rubbed gently on his face.

“My face isn’t red, lance,” she defended, “It’s the lighting.”

“The  _ blue _ lighting?” he challenged.

Keira looked up at him and glared, grabbing another rag and slapping it onto his chest, causing him to jump once again. “Do you want me to help you or not?” she asked.

“Not if you’re going to help me like that!” he protested.

She slapped him with the soaking rag again.

“Ahh! Okay, okay! I’m sorry!”

Keira chuckled to herself, this time wringing out the rag a bit before laying it carefully onto his neck and his upper chest.

She stood up, walking over to the thermostat and turned the temperature down at least 10 degrees, the environment immediately cooling.

Lance shivered, and scrambled for his blanket.

“Nuh-uh,” she scolded, pulling it down past his feet, “you need to cool off. According to the scan, your temperature is over 107 degrees. So no blanket.”

She stepped to the middle of the room, turning her back to him.

She shimmied out of her shirt, leaving it in a bunch on the floor.

Lance watched, almost in horror. “Wait, what are you doing?” he asked, alarmed.

“Lance, do you trust me?”

“...Yeah?”

“Then shut up.”

She stripped out of her pants as well, and turned around in only her underwear and black sports bra.

She sauntered over to the bed, lance still dazed and extremely confused. She laid down with him, wrapping her arm over his torso and throwing a leg over his waist. Her head rested on his shoulder.

Then silence.

“So…” Lance started, “care to explain?”

Keira paused before speaking. “I...don’t exactly know how to care for people who are sick...but my dad always told me that's what my mom would do with him when he was ill. And he would do it with me when I was little. It always worked. I know you have to stay cool, but if you are in contact with someone...someone you love, it will be over faster, and it will be better to endure. It’s psychology,” she added at the end.

Lance nodded as he relaxed a bit more, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. She remained tense, but the atmosphere was a bit more comfortable.

Lance wasn’t too upset about his situation. I mean, it's not like he could do anything about it anyway, and he wouldn’t want to either, but something was off about it. He did not exactly know what to do, so he spoke. “Why are you so tense?”

“I’m not tense.” she replied.

“Yes you are. I might be sick, but I’m not stupid.”

Keira chuckled, but said nothing.

“Oh, come on, Keira,” he pouted.

Keira sat up, feeling the rags on his chest and face. She sucked in a breath through her teeth and took the rag off of his head and dipped it back in the bowl.

Lacne watched in silence, observing his girlfriend. He couldn’t help but let his eyes trail down her slender body, the curve of her waist, her toned and strong abdomen, her seemingly perfect profile.

God, she was beautiful.

Aside from the big scar that slashed over her right shoulder and two violet stripes down her back which was her birthmark (due to her Galra lineage it turns out), her skin was completely flawless--a light pale complexion that brightened her violet eyes and silky dark hair.

She was everything he dreamed of, but she was so much more.

He continued to study her as she wiped the cool and damp rag on his face and over his chest, seeing the crease of worry and concentration that settled over her brow.

He half smiled to himself and reached up, tracing the dark line on her forehead.

She looked up at him, seeing his relaxed face. "What?" 

He shrugged. "You just need to relax. I'm just sick. I've been sick before."

Keira shook her head as she smiled, putting her hand over his as he cupped her face. 

She finished replacing the cool rags on his face and chest and laid back down, this time, a bit more relaxed and comfortable.

Lance wrapped his arm around her once more, running his hands through her hair.

“I really appreciate this, Keira,” Lance mumbled.

She said nothing only sighed and settled into him, closing her eyes.

Lance did the same. After all, this... _ plague _ , it might as well be, was very exhausting and it still hurt, but with Keira there, he felt a lot better.

“Does your head hurt, babe?” Keira looked up at him. 

“Hmm...not really--”

“Lance, don’t lie to me.”

“It does a little bit, but it's okay. I’ll be fine.”

Keira sat up, glaring at him. “I’ll go and get some stuff. I don’t know why I didn't think about that before.”

She stood up completely, the cool air biting his skin as she pulled away. She pulled up the blanket to appease him while she was gone. “I’m going to use your robe really fast, okay?”

He mumbled his affirmation and she left. 

She returned by the end of ten minutes, but to Lance, it was ten minutes too long. 

She dosed him with some coughing meds and gave him an asprin, then laid down with him again.

“Please tell me if you need anything else, Lance.”

“‘Kay. I will.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

She laid back down on him, assuming her original position.

It was very comforting that he wasn't alone in this. Ever since arriving on the castleship, he felt left out, like he was the goofball or the dumb one. Keira seemed to prove that theory time and time again, even back at the Garrison. But as she spent more time with him, as more and more of him, the real him, started showing itself, he saw her looking in his direction more, sitting next to him more (willingly), talking with him, listening to him, giving him credit for his genius. He was growing up. He was aware of it, and so was she. She was...God forbid, attracted to him.

And here they were. Laying in bed, spooning each other despite the illness raging through him.

Because she loved him.

And he loved her.

His eyes lolled shut eventually, after hearing the slow and steady breathing of his girlfriend. He had spent enough nights with her to know that that meant she was asleep. He smiled, petting her hair before going to sleep himself.

.o0o.

“Keira? Lance? Where’d you guys go?”

Shiro saw Keira earlier that day, but Lance was nowhere to be found. She was fairly upset to realize that he had basically stood her up after almost a week of planning a date to train and spend time with each other, and when he didn’t even get out of bed, she was obviously pissed. She left the lounge about an hour earlier, but she hasn’t been seen since. Shiro decided to go and look for her to make sure she wasn’t ripping his head off or anything.

He peeked into Keira’s room--nothing.

He looked in his own room. Nothing.

He finally stumbled on Lance’s room. There was no noise coming from inside, but it didn’t hurt to look. He knocked on the door gently. “Keira? Lance?”

No answer.

He opened the door, just to make sure everything was alright, to be met with probably the sweetest thing he had ever seen. 

The two lovers were in the bed, only their underclothes on, sleeping peacefully, one sleeping on the other. 

He smiled to himself, remembering the good old days where he and Adam would do the same thing on the weekends. Not wanting to disturb the apparently exhausted teens, he closed the door.

.o0o.

** _Two weeks later.._ **

Lance was fully recovered from whatever illness or sickness he had, and he was very, very thankful for that. Although Keira really helped him, he would rather be in that same situation not feeling absolutely miserable.

Speaking of…

“Hey, has anyone seen Keira?”

There was a pause as the paladins ran through their minds. 

There were murmurs of no’s and shaking of heads as they realized they hadn’t seen the red paladin all day.

Pidge, although, spoke up finally. "She wasn't feeling too well, I thinks she had a space knock off of the flu on steroids, so she went to bed. I gave her some water, but that was it.”

“I’ll go and check up on her," Lance decided, “I think I know what's wrong" He stood up and left. 

He immediately traveled to her room, knocking on the door. “Keira? It’s me, Lance. Can I come in?”

He only heard a moan.

“Hey, are you okay, Keira?”

“No,” she groaned.

“I’m going to come in, okay?”

“Hmmmpph…”

Yep. He knew exactly what was wrong with her.

He opened the door, seeing his girlfriend shivering on the bed, eyes glazed over and watering, skin pale and face flushed.

He saw on the bed stand, there was a glass of ice water already there, barely touched as well as some rags and ice water. He shucked off his shirt, and closed the door.

.o0o.


End file.
